Two "Firsts" That May Stick...

I'm proud to say we had some "firsts" at our house this past weekend. The first "First"?
We visited a new church! After months of "we really need to get back to church..." "I wish the kids would be good at church..." and "why doesn't our church have a nursery? It's not worth it!" - my neighbor and pal, Stephanie, recommended theirs. This new church has a nursery AND a little Sunday school program for preschoolers! I liked the sounds of that.
So after running, showering, feeding and dressing 3 humans (and Matt as well), we headed out to check out the church at 8:35 a.m.
We were not disappointed. The Sunday school has a wait list, due to a lack of teacher volunteers. But the lead teacher was very nice, took my name (I said I'd be more than happy to volunteer!) and added Lucy to the waiting list. She thinks if she can just get a couple more people to be teacher volunteers, an additional class can open up ASAP. With any luck, she will be in a class by Christmas. And I've been wanting to volunteer, so this would work out great for us all!
Then, we headed off to check out the nursery for Tommy. Such a cute little room with a ton of great toys! The volunteers were very kind and Tommy didn't even look back as I headed out. They even allowed Lucy to join him to "watch over brother." She happily obliged.
Matt and I couldn't believe, after 3 years of sweating, reading books, coloring, feeding snacks and taking turns in the "cry room" or lobby during mass, we were actually standing there, listening and actually getting something out of the mass! Shocking! To say we are sold on this church, is an understatement. Relaxed crowd, nice priest and good music. Cha-ching! A great "first" for us and I look forward to what is to come for all of us.
The second "first"? I did my own, very first "Sunday dinner" for my parents and our fam. Again, my extremely friendly neighbor, Stephanie, has turned me on to Everyday Food. She has been passing them on to me when she is done with them. Great recipes that don't seem overly "frou frou" and therefore, don't intimidate me. You also don't need 5,000 ingredients and $1,000 to do the shopping for any of the dishes. Tonight, I tried cheddar meatloaf, brown sugar glazed carrots and corn bread stuffing. It was a hit!
I have now sent in my subscription to Everyday Food and can't wait to try even more recipes. I could really get into this whole "Sunday dinner" thing. AND - I am dying to make some new dishes. It was getting boring, people...how many things CAN you put in spaghetti sauce? Enough is enough.
So overall it was just a low-key weekend with some Halloween fun and family time. I really don't want October to end!

***This just in! I received a call from the Sunday school teacher last night and they are going to make space for Lucy starting next week! Whoooo! And I get to volunteer for the "Jesus' Birthday Party" class in December. I am so sure...hilarity to come for sure on that one...